Gossip Girl: Series Retrospective (2012) - full transcript
(Gossip Girl) Hey, Upper East Siders.
Gossip Girl here.
(Ball Park Music's "It's
nice to be alive" playing)
It's exciting to look back in celebration
of the last six years.
You'd really go out with
some guy you don't know?
Well, you can't be worse
than the guys I do know.
(Ed) It's been a long, fantastic ride.
Everyone's enjoyed it immensely.
I'm Chuck Bass, and I love you.
(Leighton) I could've never
expected that I would be able
to play a character for six years
that's so well-written and challenging.
Haven't you heard? I'm the
crazy bitch around here.
♪ Lovers need lovers, and I'm impressed ♪
We're shooting in Manhattan.
It doesn't get any better than that.
♪ The goods out on display
(Ivy) I feel a little
like Alice in Wonderland.
(Blair) Manhattan'll do that to a girl.
It was just such a love
affair with the city
and everything that it has to offer,
from fashion to food to music.
New York has never seemed more perfect.
There's an it girl on every corner.
♪ Stop
♪ don't get carried away
We went into it really hoping
that this would make its mark
as the new fashion TV series.
And pop. (Laughs)
The formula of the show
was what made it what it is.
Good morning, beautiful.
♪ We dropped down from
some other dimension ♪
♪ Just to be with you
It was very surreal for me.
I had people coming up
to me on the streets,
telling me they hate me.
(Michelle) There was literally 40 paparazzi
and 200 girls screaming
and gathered around our trailers.
♪
♪ Chill out, it's all right
I think the storytellers are really excited
to be bringing the story to fruition.
♪ Chill out, it's all right
♪ kiss me
The feeling right now, it's...
it's a poignant one. It's good.
♪ It's nice to be alive
Not the sad, empty nest phase already.
It's been a wonderful character
and I've enjoyed it thoroughly.
♪ Kiss me how can you
say we weren't important?
We were the only thing that matters.
I am going to run down
Broadway naked with champagne.
(Pops) Aah!
It's gonna be sad not seeing everybody
and seeing their face every day.
♪ It's nice to be alive
Think we oughta say a proper good-bye?
It's gonna be really strange
to not have that every day,
and I think we're all gonna
go through a bit of withdrawal.
♪ Alive
(Serena) You can let go now.
(Dan) I don't want to.
Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand...
Serena Van Der Woodsen.
(Camera shutter clicks)
I was coming off the end of "the O.C."
And had very little interest
in doing another teen drama.
And then I got sent the first book
in the "Gossip Girl" book series,
and I was like, "I may be ready
to leave high school after all".
Don't ever go to high school, Dorota.
The girls are spoiled,
stupid, and ungrateful!
Stephanie savage is one of
the smartest, most talented
people I've ever met,
and she got really
excited about it as well,
and we were off to the races.
The setting in New York City
and this elite Upper East Side society...
that's, for sure, a world
that is really alluring.
Are you following us or something?
No. I... I... I go to your school.
The books really laid it out very well.
They're juicy and salacious and fun
and everything is said
with a bit of a wink.
What's that, your stripper money?
"Sex and the City" had gone off the air.
There was really nothing on TV
that had that romantic version of New York,
and I really missed that just as a fan.
And then, of course, the
anonymous online blogger
who was watching everybody's
moves and reporting it.
Is that true?
What? You were in jail?
(Stephanie) That was
something that felt like
it was a real hook to the show.
And who am I?
That's one secret I'll never tell.
When Cecily wrote the book in 2002,
uh, Perez Hilton and TMZ didn't even exist,
so she had really kind
of imagined something
that ultimately came to pass.
Oh, my God. You'll never
believe what's on "Gossip Girl."
Someone saw Serena getting
off a train at grand central.
The tag line for the first season was,
"you're nobody until you're talked about."
It definitely was ahead of the trend.
The lives that these kids were living
was so fascinating
that there was a web site devoted to them
that they had to read endlessly,
and I think it just
really captured the moment
of the world we were in.
♪
It was really important to us
that we actually shoot
the show in New York.
That's the thing they say about New York,
is you point the camera in any
direction and it looks good,
not to mention this... the authenticity.
(Girl) Hey, Serena. Why
don't you get a room?
Oh, that's the plight of
the Manhattan teenager.
No cars. (Chuckles)
(Camera shutters click)
A lot of shows are "based
in New York" but film in L.A.
And so you don't get the magic
of walking down, you know,
a street in Soho and seeing
all the things happening
and all the cabs going
around in the background.
It's very much one of the most
important elements of the show.
Dan! Oh, my God! This is
what I love about this city.
You're always bumping into people.
Stephanie went and kind of
immersed herself in the, uh,
in the girls prep school world.
I stayed at the Carlyle
Hotel and I did research,
talking to about a dozen girls,
asking them questions about their lives.
I reviewed your record.
If Constance has a shining
star, it's Blair Waldorf.
I know. I'm the perfect one.
Stephanie is so involved
in every single detail.
She typed out her own little essays
of girls who lived on the Upper East Side,
and they were even more
wild than the books.
I've been drinking on an empty stomach.
I heard you didn't do that anymore.
Special occasion.
Oh.
I don't know exactly how I tune in
to that kind of upbringing or lifestyle,
because that's not how I was raised at all.
I'm from South Florida.
That's not what it's like.
(Scoffs) I cannot believe that
daddy decided to stay with Roman
instead of having tea
at the Carlyle with me.
It was taken people into a rarefied world
and a world that is seductive
but also problematic.
So you're actually hiding him?
He tries to take his own life,
and you're worried it's gonna
cost you mom of the year?
Serena, as happy as I am to have you home,
you have no idea what it's been like.
We really wanted this idea of,
like, family and relationships,
all these things that
are so universal to, uh,
any coming-of-age story, to be true here.
We deal with the same
things, at the end of the day.
♪
At first, we didn't have a
lot of access in New York City.
It was like, "well, what
is this show? I don't know."
But very, very quickly,
I think people recognized
that if you were on the
show, it was a good thing.
(Amplified voice) Welcome,
all, to the McKittrick Hotel.
At the beginning, that was great
because every... every new location
was somewhere, you know, we
hadn't maybe seen before...
the backroom of some cool bar, you know,
and "oh, I wanna come back here."
We always saw the show
as a real love letter to New York City.
Now there are "Gossip
Girl" tours of New York City
where you go by the locations
that the characters visited.
When Mayor Bloomberg was here,
and it's like, "oh, my
God. That's amazing."
Therefore, I, Michael R. Bloomberg,
mayor of the city of New
York, do hereby proclaim
Thursday, January 26th,
2012, in the city of New York
as "Gossip Girl" day.
Congratulations. X.O.X.O.
It's been everything we hoped it would be.
(Ed) Without quite sounding
arrogant or anything,
it's like the show's
become one of the things
the tourists like to come to New York for,
and I just find that
remarkable, you know. It's...
in the beginning, you have no
idea or expectations that large
'cause you can't really relate.
All right, Dan, Jenny. Humphrey hug.
Aah!
Eric and Lily, get in here, too.
(Sighs) (Dan) Aw.
Mm.
Hey.
When's the party?
Saturday, and...
You're kinda not invited.
♪
Josh and I are psychos about casting,
and we really did feel, with "Gossip Girl,"
that we had something special.
At the time, I was living in L.A.
And I was auditioning
every single day for pilots.
And automatically, I
was like, "I love Blair."
I wanna play that character."
So I auditioned for it
probably, like, 20 times.
(Chace) It was, like,
probably my number four read.
Wow.
I kinda sit in this little
swivel chair, and... (Chuckles)
this girl just kind of swivels around
and, like, cute as a button,
and it was Leighton, obviously.
Thank you.
And she had the headband
and just she was like, "hi."
And, oh, you know, I'm like,
if this girl can act, she's got the part.
- Uhh! (Chuckles)
- Break a leg.
I think I just did.
More than anything, I just wanted to work.
I could've never expected
that I would be able
to play a character for six years
that's so well-written
and really challenging and great.
We really believed in
all the various pairings
and the chemistry and that, you know,
Blair and Serena feel like best friends.
I still miss Dan sometimes.
The only thing lamer
than dating Dan Humphrey
is mourning Dan Humphrey.
The Humphrey family, we felt,
had this great warmth, chemistry.
She might be a tad overwhelmed
by the glitz and the glamour
of the Humphrey lifestyle.
Nate Archibald is this
kind of lost rich kid.
Do you ever feel like our whole
lives have been planned out for us?
And, you know, Chuck Bass who, at the time,
was pure villainy.
I love freshmen.
Anything about her on "Gossip Girl"?
Nuh-uh.
Hmm, till you're done with her.
♪
When we shot the pilot,
we all lived in the same hotel together
for those few weeks.
And New York City... oh, it
was the most incredible place
in... in the world.
It was a fantastic feeling, you know,
because everybody felt
equally, um, as excited,
um, and probably a bit nervous.
You know, you felt like you were
kind of thrown into something together.
It basically is, like, the
best of all possible excuses
to be in New York and live in New York.
It was so fun to see these kids
who kind of showed up in, like,
their uggs and in their hoodies
figure out this world.
(Josh) We're shooting at the Palace Hotel.
Nobody really cares. No
one's stopping to watch.
And I remember it was
such a difference, like,
the day after the show had premiered.
And then suddenly, like,
there were people standing
around, kinda watching.
And we were like, "oh. This is cool."
There was, you know,
a fair amount of press and expectations,
and we didn't do that well.
13 episodes into our order,
the writers' strike happened,
and, you know, all production stopped.
And everything was repeating,
and a lot of people watched
"Gossip Girl" in repeats.
We're actually trying to work things out.
Today's our first day
hanging out together alone.
We actually came back with a great audience
and sort of wider interest
than we had had when we started
because that sort of
"addictive" quality of the show
had kind of kicked in.
(Man) Please welcome Blake Lively!
(Cheers and applause)
"Gossip Girl" was invited to do a panel
at the Paley Festival that first year,
and that felt really great.
It felt like they had caught on
that there was something about the show
that audiences were really reacting to.
Then you were like, uh,
"okay, if the wheels don't
come off of this train,
"we're gonna be fine," and it kept going.
Every time we... we got
renewed for another season,
it was, um, selfish
personally 'cause we're like,
"yes! We get to live in
New York another year,
and we get... get paid for it!"
(Whispers) Don't tell! (Laughs)
I think at first,
critics were kind of like,
"this is a silly show about teenagers,"
but then the people who
are actually from that world
kind of validated it and embraced it,
and it kind of forced
people to take a second look.
I'm really happy to be
here with you right now.
Nobody's ever looked at
me the way you just did.
I hate you.
I've never hated anyone more.
Every nerve ending in my
body is electrified by hatred.
There is a fiery pit of hate
burning inside me, ready to explode.
(My fiction) * oh, oh, I...
(Moans)
♪
The show was pretty
controversial when it came on.
Excuse me.
The liquor's just a chaser.
We were always getting in trouble
for kind of pushing the envelope too far,
from parents television association
then watch groups.
Aah!
We tried to push it.
Damn that mother-chucker.
It is a little bit out of hand. It can be.
Step any closer and I'll scream.
You better believe you will.
I hope you did your yoga.
This could go on a while.
You can't really watch
the show with your family.
Or I... (Laughs) I can't.
Topless on Valentino's yacht.
(Blake) Serena's been
a... a bit too scandalous.
Stop talking and start partying.
(Mackintosh Braun's "Made for us" playing)
Definitely we've had some great,
uh, milestones on "Gossip Girl",
in terms of feeling, like,
cultural permeation is happening.
Magazine covers... when
they started coming,
that felt very special.
"New York" magazine put us on the cover
as the best show ever.
There was an asterisk... (Laughs)
qualifying that,
but it still said that.
(Ed) We've done wonderful shoots together.
I mean, it was my first experience
doing anything like that,
and they were fantastic, funny days.
We got name-checked by Obama.
Obama name-checked the show? What?!
- What, is... is he on, like, uh, "Gossip Girl" or something?
- (Cheers and applause)
That's pretty huge.
Camera set. Print it.
(Stephanie) We've also
had some pretty intense
crowd situations, just in terms
of the actors getting mobbed
and just knowing that
now we have to have security on the set.
Can I take your picture?
(Camera shutter clicking)
(Ed) One of the first times we shot
down on Central Park
South, outside the Plaza,
all of a sudden we just had,
like, these crowds of people.
That was a strange thing.
(Kaylee) It was very surreal for me.
I don't think I was aware of what a
big deal the show was until I was in it.
A book written about you
guys. It sounds exciting.
(Michelle) There was
literally, like, 40 paparazzi
and 200 just girls screaming
and gathered around our trailers.
They liked to pet my hair,
which is very strange.
♪
(Penn) I remember the first year
when we first saw our
pictures on a building.
And I was just like...
come on. (Laughs)
It was crazy there for a minute.
I remember penn grabbed me.
He's like, "man, I've
never had my head, like",
on a billboard, you know?"
It was just so novel, you
know, and just such a cool time.
(Kisses) Oh!
(Penn) To be 20 years old, to not be broke,
and, uh, to be sharing it
with, like, six other kids
going through the same thing,
there's very literally nothing like it.
(Woman) And to your left!
Everyone, to your left!
(Penn) And there's just,
like, parties constantly
and, like, tinted windows
and lights and, like,
clothes that were given
to you, and it's just like,
"where am I? Who... what...
what's going on right now?"
(Screaming)
I think they had their fun.
They've gotten to see New York in a way
that maybe only their
characters could understand.
I just wish that they would leave me alone.
Oh. Is that why you
got your hair blown out?
(Laughs)
(Camera shutters click)
♪
We have some of the most
passionate, vocal fans, I think,
uh, in the history of television.
My Twitter feed is often just a war
between Dan and Blair shippers
and Chuck and Blair shippers.
So it's just "Dair" vs.
"Chair" in a battle royale.
You kissed me back. I felt it.
It doesn't matter what you think you felt.
I'm sorry if I gave you
the wrong impression.
Even when we were doing "the O.C.,"
there was only, like, one or two web sites
where fans would post comments.
And since then,
the fan community and the online community
has just grown,
and certainly "Gossip Girl"
has been a part of that.
(Penn) We would, like,
walk out of our trailer
for a second and a picture was taken of us,
and immediately everything you're wearing,
it's like, "get this there.
Get this there. Get this there."
Get this there. Also,
he looks like (Bleep)."
You know? (Laughs)
Or "he looks tired. He looks sad."
Do you think he's thinking
about... " You know?"
And it's just like, whoa!
Slow your roll, guys.
I'm just, like, going to
get breakfast. (Chuckles)
Why are you still following me, Nate?
Having to kiss Chace out
in front of the Plaza Hotel,
having thousands of
teenage girls crying at me,
screaming at me, "no!"
Like, "why?!" (Laughs)
I mean, that's what I was talking about.
Our fans were actually a lot older
than people originally thought.
We hear about people in
their 20s, in their 30s,
in their 40s... I mean, I can't tell you
how many people come up to me and say,
"I know I'm not the target demographic,
but I love the show."
My grandparents still... I
get texts from nammy sometimes
saying, "I don't like you
with that M.I.L.F. anymore."
Is this the master bedroom?
Let's destroy it.
And I'm like,
"nammy! Watch your mouth!"
I hope she sees this.
My best friend was right. Saying
"yes" makes everything better.
Or no! I'm sorry. It wasn't
"M.I.L.F." I take it all back.
It was "cougar."
Now this is really gonna get
me in trouble. It was "cougar."
- Nice to meet you, by the way, um...
- Nate.
Mm. That's a great name.
Uh, and you are?
Done now.
- Where's Serena?
- She's onstage.
But I have her dress.
You mean, Serena's on the
runway of Eleanor Waldorf's show
in a design not made by Eleanor Waldorf?
(Inhales deeply) Oh, dear.
♪ Now please be gone, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh ♪
Eric Daman, our costume designer,
has done an amazing job since the pilot
of really being able to express
characters through costume
and build not just great
fashion moments over episodes
but real iconic identities
for each of the characters.
Exquisite.
You exceeded even my high expectations.
I feel like the clothing really is
kind of the characters' coat of arms,
and when they put on their clothes,
it kind of helps them become the character.
Like when Leighton walks in, she
couldn't be any more different
than who Blair Waldorf is, and she's like,
"when I put on my headband,
I am Blair Waldorf."
I'll take that. Thank you.
Even with hair and makeup,
it's the difference of
putting on this outfit
that Blair would only put together,
and that brings the
character to life even more.
Blake... I think it's a much
more symbiotic relationship
where Blake inspires Serena,
and Serena inspires Blake.
This girl has it.
People that wear these
clothes have to be very bold
and very confident and very wealthy,
and so Eric really helps us
create our characters with that.
I'd ask how you are,
but I don't really care.
I mean, I... I'd say I'm great.
Look at my hair, my clothes, my body.
It gives you a... a body language.
It gives you a... a posture
that only that particular
character can walk with.
And, you know, when you're in 7-inch heels,
you're walking differently
than when you're in sneakers.
And we also have so many places
to wear... (Laughs) all these clothes!
Move! I have a Humphrey to squash.
They really go to a lot of parties.
I'm always dressing in
these amazing party outfits.
Every episode, there's a brilliant gala
or, you know, seeing
Blair in her prom dress
or Ed in his croquet
outfit in the Hamptons.
It's sort of glamorous in a way
that... that old Hollywood
used to be glamorous,
where people really dressed.
I think my most favorite outfit to date
has been my debutante dress.
I just felt like a princess.
You look fantastic. Who are you wearing?
- Badgley Mischka.
- It's great.
My fashion was... was... was
more, you know, sailing on a yacht.
You know, like...
like... like a Nautica ad.
What's with the business formal?
Are you being arraigned for something?
And actually, I would always love to see
what Ed stepped out wearing.
You know, in the beginning,
it was way more ridiculous.
You know, yellow socks
and, like, his ascots and the whole thing.
(Josh) The Chuck Bass scarf evolution
into ascot into wide cravat.
(Laughs) Uh...
- I like your use of "cravat."
- Why, thank you, Stephanie.
I wouldn't have learned "cravat"
if it wasn't for my time on "Gossip Girl."
It's quite a sad story, actually,
because I'm a big fan of ascots,
and I had one before the show started
and I can't really wear them anymore.
I will always go back to
what Chuck Bass was wearing
on the day that he
tried to play basketball.
Let's just play some ball.
(Laughs) That was truly, truly epic.
Of course, the hundredth episode,
Blair's princess wedding was, you know,
I think it's one of the most
beautiful weddings on television.
Is everything okay in here, Blair?
You are an artist.
(Eric) Working with Vera
Wang, to go into her showroom
and actually to be able to work with her
on a one-to-one basis
and, like, see all of
these amazing dresses...
you know, the amazing team of assistants
that really helped me get in
all these Philip Treacy hats,
and we really worked our butts off
to make that look just right.
Now if we can continue...
to be on a television show
that had access to all the
best fashion in the world,
and then to learn from the best...
not just through Eric Daman
but the designers that we got to meet.
I heard Marc Jacobs
named a purse after her.
- (Woman) Whoo!
- (Man) Love you!
A lot of them have become fashion icons.
Most of them are on the covers of magazines
or doing perfume ads
or, you know, we see them everywhere.
(Michelle) He definitely
taught me how to accessorize,
particularly in this last
season during our fittings.
Eric and I are just like,
"a necklace and earrings"
and a cuff and... and rings
and studded necklace and
studded... " We're just like",
"is that too much? No,
put another thing on."
Welcome to the Upper East Side.
♪
This is Isaac Mizrahi.
Zee! Zoe!
Okay, Alexa, it's your
turn. (Chuckles nervously)
Oh, my.
(Stephanie) We've been really, really lucky
in the way that fashion
has been a part of the show
and then we've been
able to benefit from that
and get the fashion
community to help us out
- and be a part of it.
- (Josh) And appear on the show.
Thank you so much for
seeing me on short notice.
You came highly
recommended by Anna Wintour.
So then Eric finds himself
having to dress, you know,
big designers.
Michael Kors was easy
'cause he wears his black
T-shirt and his black blazer.
Didn't go so well for those who showed up
at Blair's birthday party, huh? (Laughs)
Uhh! (Rachel gasps)
(Thud)
(Stephanie) Especially for Rachel Zoe,
who had a chocolate
fountain poured on her head.
(Women gasp)
She wore that beautiful
cobalt blue Gucci dress,
and we covered it in chocolate syrup.
I die.
I think they've been intelligent
with guests stars and with references.
Isn't that Alexandra Richards?
People from the art
community and socialites...
it's kind of funny to see
them "in their element"
but they're so not in their element,
and check with them if
we're doing it right.
This is Tinsley Mortimer.
Cyndi Lauper?!
And this is Sloane Crosley,
the best-selling author of
"I was told there'd be cake."
I think that was wonderful.
It gave a sense of, um, authenticity
to the stories and to the world.
Everyone's talking about it.
When we were doing the ballet episode,
I don't know anything about the ballet,
so I was just sort of like,
"tell me who the ballet people
are and let's invite them."
They're called ballerinas. (Laughs)
The limo's taking me back in an hour.
Oh, you're not going to the White Party?
Come on, pretty girls in white dresses.
Unless there's a sprinkler, I don't care.
♪
I think you're always
looking to up the ante,
so it started out as the Hamptons.
That was a really exciting opportunity.
Going to the Hamptons was a lot of fun,
like doing the White Party
and being in this whole other world.
Every time we get to
go outside of New York,
it really just adds
something extra special.
(Brakes screech)
Nate?
♪
We kind of wanted to see
Serena and Nate in the California sunshine.
(Nate and Chuck) Cheers. (Clink)
We were down in the marina,
and Chuck had won a yacht
over the course of the summer.
And he was riding a
motorcycle on Mulholland.
Not well. (Laughs)
- He wasn't riding it well.
- Not well.
We were at a great mid-century house
in the Hollywood Hills.
So to really kind of give L.A.
The "Gossip Girl" treatment was fun.
(Pops) Aah!
Hello! (Gasps)
Of course that happened! (Laughs)
♪
Paris was, like, the ultimate.
That's been Stephanie's dream
since she was a wee lass. (Laughs)
"Ooh, la la! Paris is burning,
and Serena and Blair lit the match."
Of course your flame is hotter than mine.
We had been warned beforehand
that the show's not very popular in Paris.
Um, it might even be
canceled, and we were like,
well, that is a little embarrassing,
but we also don't really care
'cause we wanna go to
Paris and shoot the show,
and our audience will enjoy seeing that.
But it was bananas.
(Girls screaming) Aah!
The number of people that came out to watch
and wait up all night at,
like, a dirty train station
just see Ed or Leighton
for, like, five seconds...
(Josh) It was crazy.
You would just hear, like, all
these French girls yelling...
(Imitates French accent)
Leighton! Leighton!
(Normal voice) And,
you know, Ed Westwick...
he literally could not
leave his hotel or anything.
And what we found out was,
these French teenagers were
watching the show online also.
Au revoir.
They weren't gonna wait a year
for the show to come out on French TV.
I think Paris felt like "Gossip
Girl" was its own as well.
You know, not just... it didn't
just belong to New York anymore.
It belonged to Paris as well.
Blair, come meet Lou Doillon.
- Bonjour.
- Bonjour.
Oh, well, that trip to Paris...
I still relive that week daily. (Chuckles)
This is Chuck we're talking about.
He really could just disappear.
If you're so torn up about it, stop him.
You and I both know you're
the only one that can do that.
(Eric) For me, one of the most
beautiful moments in the show
is when Blair Waldorf runs
through the Gare Saint-Lazare
in that orange Oscar de La Renta dress,
and there's just this dark,
old, beautiful train station.
But to have this pop of orange gown,
that really just came
together and was scintillating.
Your world would be easier
if I didn't come back.
(Voice breaks) That's true...
(Sniffles) but it wouldn't
be my world without you in it.
♪
(Stephanie) We really think about
the music that goes in the show.
Alex Patsavas, our music supervisor,
is all over that.
And our editors are all huge
music fans, too. And our cast.
We've used Leighton's
song. We've used Ed's band.
We've used Taylor.
- Most of our cast has record deals...
- (Laughs)
so that makes it easier for us.
So you go to things like this every week?
If you don't like it, we can leave.
I just thought the music would be good.
(Stephanie) Blake was a huge
Florence + The Machine fan.
No Doubt reuniting,
having Lady Gaga on,
- to right as that was all happening.
- Mm-hmm.
And of course Sonic Youth.
♪ Spinning eams and angel wings ♪
Sonic Youth was great 'cause first of all,
they're probably, like,
my favorite band in the whole world,
and sometimes you just have
to do something for yourself.
And they ended up showing up
for Rufus and Lily's wedding,
which was really special,
and then doing an original version
of "Star Power" just for the show.
♪ Star power, star power
♪ over me
We always wanted the show
to be able to function like a magazine.
So if you wanted to find out
what's a new fashion designer
or what are the trends,
what's the song that I
should be listening to,
what's the place that I should go,
you could read a bunch of magazines
or go online and figure that out,
or you could just watch "Gossip Girl"
and that information
would be delivered to you.
Doesn't really play
without the other Ramones.
I was gonna do Iggy but I thought
it might scare the children.
Oh, so prom tomorrow night.
What do you say we stay
in, watch some scary movies?
- The scarier the better.
- Absolutely.
Yesterday, they were tearing
down the Humphrey loft,
and that was the first time
that... that it really felt like,
wow, this is... this is
actually coming to an end.
It was sad, man.
All my Lincoln Hawk
records are off the walls
and all these photos that
we all contributed to,
to make up this family.
Where's the couch from the Humphrey loft?
It was blue and it was
suede and it was quilted
and it was quite lovely.
I would like the Humphrey jukebox...
(Laughs) 'cause I feel like it's
loaded 'with early '90s hits...
- Yeah.
- From... from the time of Lincoln Hawk's reign.
We've talked about stealing
things. We've all tried.
I kinda want to take
that, the statue there.
We call it "Chuck Brass."
Or I'd like to take the pool table,
but I'd have to get Chace
to carry it on his back.
I think I'll just take
my memories. You know?
It's beautiful.
(Stephanie) I wouldn't mind
Blair's necklace from Paris
or the Harry Winston ring,
which, literally, when I
asked the Harry Winston man
if I could try it on my
finger, he said, "no."
It comes with two armed
security guards. (Laughs)
- So that's the only...
- And a German Shepherd.
There are so many pieces of wardrobe.
I used to make a file of
pieces that I really love,
and at the very end of the show,
I was gonna be really
bold and ask for them.
But then the file was getting too long,
and I was just embarrassed,
so I... I gave that one up.
♪
Take number one.
(Blake) We're all so fortunate
to have been on a show
that has been not just
such a success publicly
but such a success personally.
You know, we've all had such
a... a great, positive experience.
(Stephanie) Shooting in
the streets of New York,
you know, every day together for six years,
it does make people feel like a family,
and especially because our cast
was so young when we started.
I mean, they were teenagers.
It's so much fun. (Laughs)
(Woman) * you are the switch
(josh) Steph and I always
talk about, you know,
she feels like the mom,
I feel like the dad.
And it's nice to see, um,
the kids have grown up right.
It is like a family, and
I... I think I'll miss
the richness of that.
♪ Beneath my shadow
We won't miss the early hours,
but we will miss the... the
excuse just to, you know,
hang out with each other
between takes and catch up.
And... and, you know,
it's not just the cast
that we're friends with.
It's the crew. We've had
the same crew for six years,
and they are also my...
my very best friends.
♪ So
♪
A lot of the guest stars say,
"man, I just want you to know
you guys have the best crew."
They'll text me that, "you guys
have a really special thing."
And we've always felt that way,
and that's gonna be one of
the things I miss the most.
♪ You are the switch
I'm kind of looking at
everyone and thinking,
oh, my God, everyone's grown up.
No one in high school
reads "Gossip Girl" anymore.
It's for old people.
It's been from 20 to 26 for me,
a huge portion of my growing up,
personally and professionally.
♪ I need your cooling way
It's just a moment in time.
What can I say except, uh,
welcome to adulthood.
♪ So
We're all very excited to see what's next
for ourselves and for each other.
You know, I'm looking
forward to watching people
that I've worked with for six years now
flourish and grow.
♪ Ooh
We learned who we were together.
We're all going through that
heightened reality together.
Um, and keeping each other
sane, I think, through that.
I know that it has changed
my life in a lot of ways,
but it hasn't changed me.
It's only made me appreciate
everything else in my life
that's still really concrete
and the same even more.
(Stephanie) I've taken away
so much from "Gossip Girl."
I've had so many amazing memories of being
in incredible places that, you know,
when I was a kid, I only saw in books.
It's sad that it's coming to an end,
but we've had just a blast.
From the beginning of time...
"Gossip Girl" time, that is...
I think people have
wanted to know, you know,
what's gonna happen with Chuck and Blair?
Will you go to war with me?
I thought you'd never ask.
(Clink)
Serena... will she ever find fulfillment?
I invited you into my
home, Dan, and my world,
a... and then you just humiliate me.
Her relationship with Dan in
the beginning of show was so key.
Will that ever come back into play?
Some of the old faces
that were on the show,
will we ever see them again?
Who is Gossip Girl?
Unmasking Gossip Girl?
That's a major media coup.
If you were a loyal viewer
or if you haven't watched
the show in a few years,
you're not gonna wanna miss this episode
and you're definitely not gonna
wanna miss the last ten minutes.
I have asked Stephanie a lot about,
who Gossip Girl is.
If you watched all the episodes,
I do not think it's
impossible to figure out.
- But she won't even give me a hint.
- It's probably Dorota.
Dorota! That'd be amazing.
Everybody says Dorota, don't they?
Does he even exist? Is he
just something in our minds?
You can't wait to find out.
We shall see.
Gossip Girl here.
(Ball Park Music's "It's
nice to be alive" playing)
It's exciting to look back in celebration
of the last six years.
You'd really go out with
some guy you don't know?
Well, you can't be worse
than the guys I do know.
(Ed) It's been a long, fantastic ride.
Everyone's enjoyed it immensely.
I'm Chuck Bass, and I love you.
(Leighton) I could've never
expected that I would be able
to play a character for six years
that's so well-written and challenging.
Haven't you heard? I'm the
crazy bitch around here.
♪ Lovers need lovers, and I'm impressed ♪
We're shooting in Manhattan.
It doesn't get any better than that.
♪ The goods out on display
(Ivy) I feel a little
like Alice in Wonderland.
(Blair) Manhattan'll do that to a girl.
It was just such a love
affair with the city
and everything that it has to offer,
from fashion to food to music.
New York has never seemed more perfect.
There's an it girl on every corner.
♪ Stop
♪ don't get carried away
We went into it really hoping
that this would make its mark
as the new fashion TV series.
And pop. (Laughs)
The formula of the show
was what made it what it is.
Good morning, beautiful.
♪ We dropped down from
some other dimension ♪
♪ Just to be with you
It was very surreal for me.
I had people coming up
to me on the streets,
telling me they hate me.
(Michelle) There was literally 40 paparazzi
and 200 girls screaming
and gathered around our trailers.
♪
♪ Chill out, it's all right
I think the storytellers are really excited
to be bringing the story to fruition.
♪ Chill out, it's all right
♪ kiss me
The feeling right now, it's...
it's a poignant one. It's good.
♪ It's nice to be alive
Not the sad, empty nest phase already.
It's been a wonderful character
and I've enjoyed it thoroughly.
♪ Kiss me how can you
say we weren't important?
We were the only thing that matters.
I am going to run down
Broadway naked with champagne.
(Pops) Aah!
It's gonna be sad not seeing everybody
and seeing their face every day.
♪ It's nice to be alive
Think we oughta say a proper good-bye?
It's gonna be really strange
to not have that every day,
and I think we're all gonna
go through a bit of withdrawal.
♪ Alive
(Serena) You can let go now.
(Dan) I don't want to.
Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand...
Serena Van Der Woodsen.
(Camera shutter clicks)
I was coming off the end of "the O.C."
And had very little interest
in doing another teen drama.
And then I got sent the first book
in the "Gossip Girl" book series,
and I was like, "I may be ready
to leave high school after all".
Don't ever go to high school, Dorota.
The girls are spoiled,
stupid, and ungrateful!
Stephanie savage is one of
the smartest, most talented
people I've ever met,
and she got really
excited about it as well,
and we were off to the races.
The setting in New York City
and this elite Upper East Side society...
that's, for sure, a world
that is really alluring.
Are you following us or something?
No. I... I... I go to your school.
The books really laid it out very well.
They're juicy and salacious and fun
and everything is said
with a bit of a wink.
What's that, your stripper money?
"Sex and the City" had gone off the air.
There was really nothing on TV
that had that romantic version of New York,
and I really missed that just as a fan.
And then, of course, the
anonymous online blogger
who was watching everybody's
moves and reporting it.
Is that true?
What? You were in jail?
(Stephanie) That was
something that felt like
it was a real hook to the show.
And who am I?
That's one secret I'll never tell.
When Cecily wrote the book in 2002,
uh, Perez Hilton and TMZ didn't even exist,
so she had really kind
of imagined something
that ultimately came to pass.
Oh, my God. You'll never
believe what's on "Gossip Girl."
Someone saw Serena getting
off a train at grand central.
The tag line for the first season was,
"you're nobody until you're talked about."
It definitely was ahead of the trend.
The lives that these kids were living
was so fascinating
that there was a web site devoted to them
that they had to read endlessly,
and I think it just
really captured the moment
of the world we were in.
♪
It was really important to us
that we actually shoot
the show in New York.
That's the thing they say about New York,
is you point the camera in any
direction and it looks good,
not to mention this... the authenticity.
(Girl) Hey, Serena. Why
don't you get a room?
Oh, that's the plight of
the Manhattan teenager.
No cars. (Chuckles)
(Camera shutters click)
A lot of shows are "based
in New York" but film in L.A.
And so you don't get the magic
of walking down, you know,
a street in Soho and seeing
all the things happening
and all the cabs going
around in the background.
It's very much one of the most
important elements of the show.
Dan! Oh, my God! This is
what I love about this city.
You're always bumping into people.
Stephanie went and kind of
immersed herself in the, uh,
in the girls prep school world.
I stayed at the Carlyle
Hotel and I did research,
talking to about a dozen girls,
asking them questions about their lives.
I reviewed your record.
If Constance has a shining
star, it's Blair Waldorf.
I know. I'm the perfect one.
Stephanie is so involved
in every single detail.
She typed out her own little essays
of girls who lived on the Upper East Side,
and they were even more
wild than the books.
I've been drinking on an empty stomach.
I heard you didn't do that anymore.
Special occasion.
Oh.
I don't know exactly how I tune in
to that kind of upbringing or lifestyle,
because that's not how I was raised at all.
I'm from South Florida.
That's not what it's like.
(Scoffs) I cannot believe that
daddy decided to stay with Roman
instead of having tea
at the Carlyle with me.
It was taken people into a rarefied world
and a world that is seductive
but also problematic.
So you're actually hiding him?
He tries to take his own life,
and you're worried it's gonna
cost you mom of the year?
Serena, as happy as I am to have you home,
you have no idea what it's been like.
We really wanted this idea of,
like, family and relationships,
all these things that
are so universal to, uh,
any coming-of-age story, to be true here.
We deal with the same
things, at the end of the day.
♪
At first, we didn't have a
lot of access in New York City.
It was like, "well, what
is this show? I don't know."
But very, very quickly,
I think people recognized
that if you were on the
show, it was a good thing.
(Amplified voice) Welcome,
all, to the McKittrick Hotel.
At the beginning, that was great
because every... every new location
was somewhere, you know, we
hadn't maybe seen before...
the backroom of some cool bar, you know,
and "oh, I wanna come back here."
We always saw the show
as a real love letter to New York City.
Now there are "Gossip
Girl" tours of New York City
where you go by the locations
that the characters visited.
When Mayor Bloomberg was here,
and it's like, "oh, my
God. That's amazing."
Therefore, I, Michael R. Bloomberg,
mayor of the city of New
York, do hereby proclaim
Thursday, January 26th,
2012, in the city of New York
as "Gossip Girl" day.
Congratulations. X.O.X.O.
It's been everything we hoped it would be.
(Ed) Without quite sounding
arrogant or anything,
it's like the show's
become one of the things
the tourists like to come to New York for,
and I just find that
remarkable, you know. It's...
in the beginning, you have no
idea or expectations that large
'cause you can't really relate.
All right, Dan, Jenny. Humphrey hug.
Aah!
Eric and Lily, get in here, too.
(Sighs) (Dan) Aw.
Mm.
Hey.
When's the party?
Saturday, and...
You're kinda not invited.
♪
Josh and I are psychos about casting,
and we really did feel, with "Gossip Girl,"
that we had something special.
At the time, I was living in L.A.
And I was auditioning
every single day for pilots.
And automatically, I
was like, "I love Blair."
I wanna play that character."
So I auditioned for it
probably, like, 20 times.
(Chace) It was, like,
probably my number four read.
Wow.
I kinda sit in this little
swivel chair, and... (Chuckles)
this girl just kind of swivels around
and, like, cute as a button,
and it was Leighton, obviously.
Thank you.
And she had the headband
and just she was like, "hi."
And, oh, you know, I'm like,
if this girl can act, she's got the part.
- Uhh! (Chuckles)
- Break a leg.
I think I just did.
More than anything, I just wanted to work.
I could've never expected
that I would be able
to play a character for six years
that's so well-written
and really challenging and great.
We really believed in
all the various pairings
and the chemistry and that, you know,
Blair and Serena feel like best friends.
I still miss Dan sometimes.
The only thing lamer
than dating Dan Humphrey
is mourning Dan Humphrey.
The Humphrey family, we felt,
had this great warmth, chemistry.
She might be a tad overwhelmed
by the glitz and the glamour
of the Humphrey lifestyle.
Nate Archibald is this
kind of lost rich kid.
Do you ever feel like our whole
lives have been planned out for us?
And, you know, Chuck Bass who, at the time,
was pure villainy.
I love freshmen.
Anything about her on "Gossip Girl"?
Nuh-uh.
Hmm, till you're done with her.
♪
When we shot the pilot,
we all lived in the same hotel together
for those few weeks.
And New York City... oh, it
was the most incredible place
in... in the world.
It was a fantastic feeling, you know,
because everybody felt
equally, um, as excited,
um, and probably a bit nervous.
You know, you felt like you were
kind of thrown into something together.
It basically is, like, the
best of all possible excuses
to be in New York and live in New York.
It was so fun to see these kids
who kind of showed up in, like,
their uggs and in their hoodies
figure out this world.
(Josh) We're shooting at the Palace Hotel.
Nobody really cares. No
one's stopping to watch.
And I remember it was
such a difference, like,
the day after the show had premiered.
And then suddenly, like,
there were people standing
around, kinda watching.
And we were like, "oh. This is cool."
There was, you know,
a fair amount of press and expectations,
and we didn't do that well.
13 episodes into our order,
the writers' strike happened,
and, you know, all production stopped.
And everything was repeating,
and a lot of people watched
"Gossip Girl" in repeats.
We're actually trying to work things out.
Today's our first day
hanging out together alone.
We actually came back with a great audience
and sort of wider interest
than we had had when we started
because that sort of
"addictive" quality of the show
had kind of kicked in.
(Man) Please welcome Blake Lively!
(Cheers and applause)
"Gossip Girl" was invited to do a panel
at the Paley Festival that first year,
and that felt really great.
It felt like they had caught on
that there was something about the show
that audiences were really reacting to.
Then you were like, uh,
"okay, if the wheels don't
come off of this train,
"we're gonna be fine," and it kept going.
Every time we... we got
renewed for another season,
it was, um, selfish
personally 'cause we're like,
"yes! We get to live in
New York another year,
and we get... get paid for it!"
(Whispers) Don't tell! (Laughs)
I think at first,
critics were kind of like,
"this is a silly show about teenagers,"
but then the people who
are actually from that world
kind of validated it and embraced it,
and it kind of forced
people to take a second look.
I'm really happy to be
here with you right now.
Nobody's ever looked at
me the way you just did.
I hate you.
I've never hated anyone more.
Every nerve ending in my
body is electrified by hatred.
There is a fiery pit of hate
burning inside me, ready to explode.
(My fiction) * oh, oh, I...
(Moans)
♪
The show was pretty
controversial when it came on.
Excuse me.
The liquor's just a chaser.
We were always getting in trouble
for kind of pushing the envelope too far,
from parents television association
then watch groups.
Aah!
We tried to push it.
Damn that mother-chucker.
It is a little bit out of hand. It can be.
Step any closer and I'll scream.
You better believe you will.
I hope you did your yoga.
This could go on a while.
You can't really watch
the show with your family.
Or I... (Laughs) I can't.
Topless on Valentino's yacht.
(Blake) Serena's been
a... a bit too scandalous.
Stop talking and start partying.
(Mackintosh Braun's "Made for us" playing)
Definitely we've had some great,
uh, milestones on "Gossip Girl",
in terms of feeling, like,
cultural permeation is happening.
Magazine covers... when
they started coming,
that felt very special.
"New York" magazine put us on the cover
as the best show ever.
There was an asterisk... (Laughs)
qualifying that,
but it still said that.
(Ed) We've done wonderful shoots together.
I mean, it was my first experience
doing anything like that,
and they were fantastic, funny days.
We got name-checked by Obama.
Obama name-checked the show? What?!
- What, is... is he on, like, uh, "Gossip Girl" or something?
- (Cheers and applause)
That's pretty huge.
Camera set. Print it.
(Stephanie) We've also
had some pretty intense
crowd situations, just in terms
of the actors getting mobbed
and just knowing that
now we have to have security on the set.
Can I take your picture?
(Camera shutter clicking)
(Ed) One of the first times we shot
down on Central Park
South, outside the Plaza,
all of a sudden we just had,
like, these crowds of people.
That was a strange thing.
(Kaylee) It was very surreal for me.
I don't think I was aware of what a
big deal the show was until I was in it.
A book written about you
guys. It sounds exciting.
(Michelle) There was
literally, like, 40 paparazzi
and 200 just girls screaming
and gathered around our trailers.
They liked to pet my hair,
which is very strange.
♪
(Penn) I remember the first year
when we first saw our
pictures on a building.
And I was just like...
come on. (Laughs)
It was crazy there for a minute.
I remember penn grabbed me.
He's like, "man, I've
never had my head, like",
on a billboard, you know?"
It was just so novel, you
know, and just such a cool time.
(Kisses) Oh!
(Penn) To be 20 years old, to not be broke,
and, uh, to be sharing it
with, like, six other kids
going through the same thing,
there's very literally nothing like it.
(Woman) And to your left!
Everyone, to your left!
(Penn) And there's just,
like, parties constantly
and, like, tinted windows
and lights and, like,
clothes that were given
to you, and it's just like,
"where am I? Who... what...
what's going on right now?"
(Screaming)
I think they had their fun.
They've gotten to see New York in a way
that maybe only their
characters could understand.
I just wish that they would leave me alone.
Oh. Is that why you
got your hair blown out?
(Laughs)
(Camera shutters click)
♪
We have some of the most
passionate, vocal fans, I think,
uh, in the history of television.
My Twitter feed is often just a war
between Dan and Blair shippers
and Chuck and Blair shippers.
So it's just "Dair" vs.
"Chair" in a battle royale.
You kissed me back. I felt it.
It doesn't matter what you think you felt.
I'm sorry if I gave you
the wrong impression.
Even when we were doing "the O.C.,"
there was only, like, one or two web sites
where fans would post comments.
And since then,
the fan community and the online community
has just grown,
and certainly "Gossip Girl"
has been a part of that.
(Penn) We would, like,
walk out of our trailer
for a second and a picture was taken of us,
and immediately everything you're wearing,
it's like, "get this there.
Get this there. Get this there."
Get this there. Also,
he looks like (Bleep)."
You know? (Laughs)
Or "he looks tired. He looks sad."
Do you think he's thinking
about... " You know?"
And it's just like, whoa!
Slow your roll, guys.
I'm just, like, going to
get breakfast. (Chuckles)
Why are you still following me, Nate?
Having to kiss Chace out
in front of the Plaza Hotel,
having thousands of
teenage girls crying at me,
screaming at me, "no!"
Like, "why?!" (Laughs)
I mean, that's what I was talking about.
Our fans were actually a lot older
than people originally thought.
We hear about people in
their 20s, in their 30s,
in their 40s... I mean, I can't tell you
how many people come up to me and say,
"I know I'm not the target demographic,
but I love the show."
My grandparents still... I
get texts from nammy sometimes
saying, "I don't like you
with that M.I.L.F. anymore."
Is this the master bedroom?
Let's destroy it.
And I'm like,
"nammy! Watch your mouth!"
I hope she sees this.
My best friend was right. Saying
"yes" makes everything better.
Or no! I'm sorry. It wasn't
"M.I.L.F." I take it all back.
It was "cougar."
Now this is really gonna get
me in trouble. It was "cougar."
- Nice to meet you, by the way, um...
- Nate.
Mm. That's a great name.
Uh, and you are?
Done now.
- Where's Serena?
- She's onstage.
But I have her dress.
You mean, Serena's on the
runway of Eleanor Waldorf's show
in a design not made by Eleanor Waldorf?
(Inhales deeply) Oh, dear.
♪ Now please be gone, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh ♪
Eric Daman, our costume designer,
has done an amazing job since the pilot
of really being able to express
characters through costume
and build not just great
fashion moments over episodes
but real iconic identities
for each of the characters.
Exquisite.
You exceeded even my high expectations.
I feel like the clothing really is
kind of the characters' coat of arms,
and when they put on their clothes,
it kind of helps them become the character.
Like when Leighton walks in, she
couldn't be any more different
than who Blair Waldorf is, and she's like,
"when I put on my headband,
I am Blair Waldorf."
I'll take that. Thank you.
Even with hair and makeup,
it's the difference of
putting on this outfit
that Blair would only put together,
and that brings the
character to life even more.
Blake... I think it's a much
more symbiotic relationship
where Blake inspires Serena,
and Serena inspires Blake.
This girl has it.
People that wear these
clothes have to be very bold
and very confident and very wealthy,
and so Eric really helps us
create our characters with that.
I'd ask how you are,
but I don't really care.
I mean, I... I'd say I'm great.
Look at my hair, my clothes, my body.
It gives you a... a body language.
It gives you a... a posture
that only that particular
character can walk with.
And, you know, when you're in 7-inch heels,
you're walking differently
than when you're in sneakers.
And we also have so many places
to wear... (Laughs) all these clothes!
Move! I have a Humphrey to squash.
They really go to a lot of parties.
I'm always dressing in
these amazing party outfits.
Every episode, there's a brilliant gala
or, you know, seeing
Blair in her prom dress
or Ed in his croquet
outfit in the Hamptons.
It's sort of glamorous in a way
that... that old Hollywood
used to be glamorous,
where people really dressed.
I think my most favorite outfit to date
has been my debutante dress.
I just felt like a princess.
You look fantastic. Who are you wearing?
- Badgley Mischka.
- It's great.
My fashion was... was... was
more, you know, sailing on a yacht.
You know, like...
like... like a Nautica ad.
What's with the business formal?
Are you being arraigned for something?
And actually, I would always love to see
what Ed stepped out wearing.
You know, in the beginning,
it was way more ridiculous.
You know, yellow socks
and, like, his ascots and the whole thing.
(Josh) The Chuck Bass scarf evolution
into ascot into wide cravat.
(Laughs) Uh...
- I like your use of "cravat."
- Why, thank you, Stephanie.
I wouldn't have learned "cravat"
if it wasn't for my time on "Gossip Girl."
It's quite a sad story, actually,
because I'm a big fan of ascots,
and I had one before the show started
and I can't really wear them anymore.
I will always go back to
what Chuck Bass was wearing
on the day that he
tried to play basketball.
Let's just play some ball.
(Laughs) That was truly, truly epic.
Of course, the hundredth episode,
Blair's princess wedding was, you know,
I think it's one of the most
beautiful weddings on television.
Is everything okay in here, Blair?
You are an artist.
(Eric) Working with Vera
Wang, to go into her showroom
and actually to be able to work with her
on a one-to-one basis
and, like, see all of
these amazing dresses...
you know, the amazing team of assistants
that really helped me get in
all these Philip Treacy hats,
and we really worked our butts off
to make that look just right.
Now if we can continue...
to be on a television show
that had access to all the
best fashion in the world,
and then to learn from the best...
not just through Eric Daman
but the designers that we got to meet.
I heard Marc Jacobs
named a purse after her.
- (Woman) Whoo!
- (Man) Love you!
A lot of them have become fashion icons.
Most of them are on the covers of magazines
or doing perfume ads
or, you know, we see them everywhere.
(Michelle) He definitely
taught me how to accessorize,
particularly in this last
season during our fittings.
Eric and I are just like,
"a necklace and earrings"
and a cuff and... and rings
and studded necklace and
studded... " We're just like",
"is that too much? No,
put another thing on."
Welcome to the Upper East Side.
♪
This is Isaac Mizrahi.
Zee! Zoe!
Okay, Alexa, it's your
turn. (Chuckles nervously)
Oh, my.
(Stephanie) We've been really, really lucky
in the way that fashion
has been a part of the show
and then we've been
able to benefit from that
and get the fashion
community to help us out
- and be a part of it.
- (Josh) And appear on the show.
Thank you so much for
seeing me on short notice.
You came highly
recommended by Anna Wintour.
So then Eric finds himself
having to dress, you know,
big designers.
Michael Kors was easy
'cause he wears his black
T-shirt and his black blazer.
Didn't go so well for those who showed up
at Blair's birthday party, huh? (Laughs)
Uhh! (Rachel gasps)
(Thud)
(Stephanie) Especially for Rachel Zoe,
who had a chocolate
fountain poured on her head.
(Women gasp)
She wore that beautiful
cobalt blue Gucci dress,
and we covered it in chocolate syrup.
I die.
I think they've been intelligent
with guests stars and with references.
Isn't that Alexandra Richards?
People from the art
community and socialites...
it's kind of funny to see
them "in their element"
but they're so not in their element,
and check with them if
we're doing it right.
This is Tinsley Mortimer.
Cyndi Lauper?!
And this is Sloane Crosley,
the best-selling author of
"I was told there'd be cake."
I think that was wonderful.
It gave a sense of, um, authenticity
to the stories and to the world.
Everyone's talking about it.
When we were doing the ballet episode,
I don't know anything about the ballet,
so I was just sort of like,
"tell me who the ballet people
are and let's invite them."
They're called ballerinas. (Laughs)
The limo's taking me back in an hour.
Oh, you're not going to the White Party?
Come on, pretty girls in white dresses.
Unless there's a sprinkler, I don't care.
♪
I think you're always
looking to up the ante,
so it started out as the Hamptons.
That was a really exciting opportunity.
Going to the Hamptons was a lot of fun,
like doing the White Party
and being in this whole other world.
Every time we get to
go outside of New York,
it really just adds
something extra special.
(Brakes screech)
Nate?
♪
We kind of wanted to see
Serena and Nate in the California sunshine.
(Nate and Chuck) Cheers. (Clink)
We were down in the marina,
and Chuck had won a yacht
over the course of the summer.
And he was riding a
motorcycle on Mulholland.
Not well. (Laughs)
- He wasn't riding it well.
- Not well.
We were at a great mid-century house
in the Hollywood Hills.
So to really kind of give L.A.
The "Gossip Girl" treatment was fun.
(Pops) Aah!
Hello! (Gasps)
Of course that happened! (Laughs)
♪
Paris was, like, the ultimate.
That's been Stephanie's dream
since she was a wee lass. (Laughs)
"Ooh, la la! Paris is burning,
and Serena and Blair lit the match."
Of course your flame is hotter than mine.
We had been warned beforehand
that the show's not very popular in Paris.
Um, it might even be
canceled, and we were like,
well, that is a little embarrassing,
but we also don't really care
'cause we wanna go to
Paris and shoot the show,
and our audience will enjoy seeing that.
But it was bananas.
(Girls screaming) Aah!
The number of people that came out to watch
and wait up all night at,
like, a dirty train station
just see Ed or Leighton
for, like, five seconds...
(Josh) It was crazy.
You would just hear, like, all
these French girls yelling...
(Imitates French accent)
Leighton! Leighton!
(Normal voice) And,
you know, Ed Westwick...
he literally could not
leave his hotel or anything.
And what we found out was,
these French teenagers were
watching the show online also.
Au revoir.
They weren't gonna wait a year
for the show to come out on French TV.
I think Paris felt like "Gossip
Girl" was its own as well.
You know, not just... it didn't
just belong to New York anymore.
It belonged to Paris as well.
Blair, come meet Lou Doillon.
- Bonjour.
- Bonjour.
Oh, well, that trip to Paris...
I still relive that week daily. (Chuckles)
This is Chuck we're talking about.
He really could just disappear.
If you're so torn up about it, stop him.
You and I both know you're
the only one that can do that.
(Eric) For me, one of the most
beautiful moments in the show
is when Blair Waldorf runs
through the Gare Saint-Lazare
in that orange Oscar de La Renta dress,
and there's just this dark,
old, beautiful train station.
But to have this pop of orange gown,
that really just came
together and was scintillating.
Your world would be easier
if I didn't come back.
(Voice breaks) That's true...
(Sniffles) but it wouldn't
be my world without you in it.
♪
(Stephanie) We really think about
the music that goes in the show.
Alex Patsavas, our music supervisor,
is all over that.
And our editors are all huge
music fans, too. And our cast.
We've used Leighton's
song. We've used Ed's band.
We've used Taylor.
- Most of our cast has record deals...
- (Laughs)
so that makes it easier for us.
So you go to things like this every week?
If you don't like it, we can leave.
I just thought the music would be good.
(Stephanie) Blake was a huge
Florence + The Machine fan.
No Doubt reuniting,
having Lady Gaga on,
- to right as that was all happening.
- Mm-hmm.
And of course Sonic Youth.
♪ Spinning eams and angel wings ♪
Sonic Youth was great 'cause first of all,
they're probably, like,
my favorite band in the whole world,
and sometimes you just have
to do something for yourself.
And they ended up showing up
for Rufus and Lily's wedding,
which was really special,
and then doing an original version
of "Star Power" just for the show.
♪ Star power, star power
♪ over me
We always wanted the show
to be able to function like a magazine.
So if you wanted to find out
what's a new fashion designer
or what are the trends,
what's the song that I
should be listening to,
what's the place that I should go,
you could read a bunch of magazines
or go online and figure that out,
or you could just watch "Gossip Girl"
and that information
would be delivered to you.
Doesn't really play
without the other Ramones.
I was gonna do Iggy but I thought
it might scare the children.
Oh, so prom tomorrow night.
What do you say we stay
in, watch some scary movies?
- The scarier the better.
- Absolutely.
Yesterday, they were tearing
down the Humphrey loft,
and that was the first time
that... that it really felt like,
wow, this is... this is
actually coming to an end.
It was sad, man.
All my Lincoln Hawk
records are off the walls
and all these photos that
we all contributed to,
to make up this family.
Where's the couch from the Humphrey loft?
It was blue and it was
suede and it was quilted
and it was quite lovely.
I would like the Humphrey jukebox...
(Laughs) 'cause I feel like it's
loaded 'with early '90s hits...
- Yeah.
- From... from the time of Lincoln Hawk's reign.
We've talked about stealing
things. We've all tried.
I kinda want to take
that, the statue there.
We call it "Chuck Brass."
Or I'd like to take the pool table,
but I'd have to get Chace
to carry it on his back.
I think I'll just take
my memories. You know?
It's beautiful.
(Stephanie) I wouldn't mind
Blair's necklace from Paris
or the Harry Winston ring,
which, literally, when I
asked the Harry Winston man
if I could try it on my
finger, he said, "no."
It comes with two armed
security guards. (Laughs)
- So that's the only...
- And a German Shepherd.
There are so many pieces of wardrobe.
I used to make a file of
pieces that I really love,
and at the very end of the show,
I was gonna be really
bold and ask for them.
But then the file was getting too long,
and I was just embarrassed,
so I... I gave that one up.
♪
Take number one.
(Blake) We're all so fortunate
to have been on a show
that has been not just
such a success publicly
but such a success personally.
You know, we've all had such
a... a great, positive experience.
(Stephanie) Shooting in
the streets of New York,
you know, every day together for six years,
it does make people feel like a family,
and especially because our cast
was so young when we started.
I mean, they were teenagers.
It's so much fun. (Laughs)
(Woman) * you are the switch
(josh) Steph and I always
talk about, you know,
she feels like the mom,
I feel like the dad.
And it's nice to see, um,
the kids have grown up right.
It is like a family, and
I... I think I'll miss
the richness of that.
♪ Beneath my shadow
We won't miss the early hours,
but we will miss the... the
excuse just to, you know,
hang out with each other
between takes and catch up.
And... and, you know,
it's not just the cast
that we're friends with.
It's the crew. We've had
the same crew for six years,
and they are also my...
my very best friends.
♪ So
♪
A lot of the guest stars say,
"man, I just want you to know
you guys have the best crew."
They'll text me that, "you guys
have a really special thing."
And we've always felt that way,
and that's gonna be one of
the things I miss the most.
♪ You are the switch
I'm kind of looking at
everyone and thinking,
oh, my God, everyone's grown up.
No one in high school
reads "Gossip Girl" anymore.
It's for old people.
It's been from 20 to 26 for me,
a huge portion of my growing up,
personally and professionally.
♪ I need your cooling way
It's just a moment in time.
What can I say except, uh,
welcome to adulthood.
♪ So
We're all very excited to see what's next
for ourselves and for each other.
You know, I'm looking
forward to watching people
that I've worked with for six years now
flourish and grow.
♪ Ooh
We learned who we were together.
We're all going through that
heightened reality together.
Um, and keeping each other
sane, I think, through that.
I know that it has changed
my life in a lot of ways,
but it hasn't changed me.
It's only made me appreciate
everything else in my life
that's still really concrete
and the same even more.
(Stephanie) I've taken away
so much from "Gossip Girl."
I've had so many amazing memories of being
in incredible places that, you know,
when I was a kid, I only saw in books.
It's sad that it's coming to an end,
but we've had just a blast.
From the beginning of time...
"Gossip Girl" time, that is...
I think people have
wanted to know, you know,
what's gonna happen with Chuck and Blair?
Will you go to war with me?
I thought you'd never ask.
(Clink)
Serena... will she ever find fulfillment?
I invited you into my
home, Dan, and my world,
a... and then you just humiliate me.
Her relationship with Dan in
the beginning of show was so key.
Will that ever come back into play?
Some of the old faces
that were on the show,
will we ever see them again?
Who is Gossip Girl?
Unmasking Gossip Girl?
That's a major media coup.
If you were a loyal viewer
or if you haven't watched
the show in a few years,
you're not gonna wanna miss this episode
and you're definitely not gonna
wanna miss the last ten minutes.
I have asked Stephanie a lot about,
who Gossip Girl is.
If you watched all the episodes,
I do not think it's
impossible to figure out.
- But she won't even give me a hint.
- It's probably Dorota.
Dorota! That'd be amazing.
Everybody says Dorota, don't they?
Does he even exist? Is he
just something in our minds?
You can't wait to find out.
We shall see.